Wednesday, April 28, 2010

My wife and I have 2 cars.We are very fortunate.One of these was a gift.Free.We talk a lot about how incredible it is that we have 2 working vehicles.Most people on this planet would be extatic to have one, and we have two.I have a silver pickup truck that we named “Cecil” and my wife has a 4 door green sedan called “Louie.”They are both mazdas and they were both made in the same year: 1991.Yikes. That is old.19 years to be exact.They are both just shy of 200,000 miles. They are also both running great.It’s incredible.However, they both have their share of battle scars.My truck has slammed into the guard rail twice due to icy conditions and poor Luoie has duct tape for a window.(The story behind that is another can of worms).The paint is also oxidizing and fading badly.

Every now and then we have a small repair to do and yesterday something happened.We drove Louie to church and after the service offered to take our friends Kellie and Caleb home.We all hopped in and as I turned the key…nothing happened.Dead.As a door nail.Not choking, not struggling or trying whatsoever to turn over.Dead.After attempting to get a jump from some very kind strangers we decided to give up.We got a ride with our friend Tessa and decided to tackle the problem with a tow truck on Monday.

Later that evening my brain started to storm.I thought maybe Louie’s battery needed an overnight charge and so I drove the pickup back out to the chuch parking lot to retrieve the battery.Before removing the battery from the stranded car I thought to myself, “What the heck,I’ll just try to start ol’ Louie. “Sure enough, she fired up the first try with a loud Vrooooooooooom!Well, since I drove to the church alone,I obviously couldn’t bring Louie back with me.I went straight home and picked up Jenna so we could get the car home.When the 2 of us got there we noticed Louie had a low tire and spotted a nail.We then headed straight to the gas station to fill it.Jenna drove the truck behind me as we pulled in to the station to fill the tire.I almost turned the car off but decided quiclky that I shouldn’t in case it wouldn’t start again.

The following morning I took Jenna to work and came back to drive Louie to the shop.Vrooooooooooom! She started right up again!The tire had lost air through the night so I pulled into the BP around the corner to give it one last breathe before heading to the shop.Like an idiot,I turned the car off.Wouldn’t you know,as I attempted to start her again she refused.Great.Back to the drawing board.Unbelievable.What was I thinking?!?!?!I put Louie in neutral and began pushing her to the edge of the parking lot.Just as I was about to call the tow truck and older man came up to me.He was filling his old red truck at one of the pumps and said,“What’s wrong with it?”

“It won’t start,” I replied.

“turn your headlights on, “ he said as he walked towards me.

This guy looked kinda like Bubba from the movie Forrest Gump.He was probably about 60 years old and wearing overalls.His hair was graying and all of his front teeth were gold.We talked back and forth about the symptoms and what we thought the diagnosis should be.Turns out he was a retired mechanic and it seemed like he knew what he was talking about.I popped the hood and he began poking around.He said the batterry was fine because the headlights didn’t dim when I tried to turn the engine over.After wiggling some wires and getting pretty greasy we agreed that it was most likely a bad starter.

He said we could just pop the clutch and I would be on my way.He climbed back into his red truck and pulled up right behind me.Our bumpers were touching.I put the key in the ignition to gain contol of the wheel and he started pushing me with his truck out into the street.About 20 yards down I let the clutch out and Vroooooooooom!Louie started right up!I pulled over and got out of the car.He rolled his window down and I said my thanks.I reached into my wallet and found a crisp five dollar bill.I handed it to him and he said “Now go get that thing fixed!”

I thought back to our tour wiith Sanctus Real.There was another band on the bill from Portland, OR called Above the Golden State.They have a song called “The Golden Rule.”The lyrics are a simple reminder of the greatest commandement.“Love the Lord your God with all your heart, soul, strength and mind.And the second-love your neighbor as yourself.”That guy did just that. he helped me emmensly and got my car to the shop.Louie was fixed within a couple of hours and she’s running like a champ.Keep your eyes open for someone in need today.Love your neighbor.Pay it forward.This sums up the Faith that we hold onto.This sums up how we should live.

Wednesday, April 21, 2010

Hey all! JFH's own John DiBiase blogged live from the 41st Annual GMA Dove Awards press room (on April 21, 2010). The transcript below counts down backwards the events of the night as we blogged moment by moment. So if you want to read it in chronological order, please start at the bottom of the page.

10:58PM CST -- That's it! It's all over! Thanks for all your comments and for following along with us! I'll be posting Dove press room photos soon! I'm out for the night. Love you all! --- John

10:53PM CST -- Casting Crowns was just back here and now Natalie Grant is up at the mic... admitting she fell on her face back stage (why she's telling us, I don't know :) ). /// Thanks all for the kind words and reading!

10:36PM CST -- Franny Battistelli is back here talking about her singles success. ... And she's hiding her pregnancy very well! :)

10:33PM CST -- You're welcome, Maria! :) /// The grand finale just ended. The press room will keep going for a bit, but the show is over! I'll keep blogging as long as we have artists coming in.

10:32PM CST -- Replying to you Mike, it's all good bro. :) Glad you agreed with the other winner high points :)

8:31PM CST -- Bart just blew an intro and it was priceless! (he followed it with "Christmas Time is Here"). RED is now performing "The Fight Inside" with Brian "Head" Welch and producer Bernie Herms.

8:22PM CST -- Franny is now performing "Beautiful, Beautiful" (btw - she announced she's expecting a child this October!) and Tenth Ave North, Jason Ingram, and Philip LaRue are her in the press room talking to us.

8:13PM CST -- Female Vocalist of the Year is up now............ Francesca Battistelli just won!! Congrats Franny! You deserve it for those pipes!

8:06PM CST -- The working title for Brandon Heath's new record is "Leaving Eden." One of the new song titles is "Your Love," which he wrote with Jason Ingram. Jason Crabb just came back here after Brandon left...

8:03PM CST -- Brandon Heath is back here now talking to us, and how he's hard at work on a new album. Meanwhile, Tenth Avenue North is performing at the Doves show (I think it's "By Your Side").

7:57PM CST -- And Song of the Year is ........ what?! "By Your Side" by Tenth Ave. North?! Kind of an old one to win... but congrats to the guys anyway.

7:56PM CST -- Song of the Year nominees are being announced now...

7:54PM CST -- To the recent blog comments -- Davy - thanks for the www.gmclife.com stream clarification. :) And Micah -- I honestly would love to see Skillet get it too, but it's kind of unlikely. But I'm pretty much hoping for anyone but CC :) (Go JARS too! ;) )

7:38PM CST -- To answer another Blog Comment -- Arielle, I know it will air on TV Sunday, but am not sure about it being online or not. I'm sorry! :( /// Back to the Doves... PCD is chatting back here, reflecting on their song "Revelation Song" and reflecting on their 19-year career!

7:34PM CST -- To answer a Blog Comment -- Keren, Jordin is a Christian and actually wrote the song "Human" for Natalie to sing. Kinda cool! /// Back to the Doves... Brandon gave a great thank-you speech. His father is actually in the hospital tonight! :( Please remember him in your prayers.

7:32PM CST -- PCD and Jobe got a standing ovation. Millard is now announcing Male Vocalist of the Year. I'd like to see Bebo Norman get it. :) The Dove Award goes to..... Brandon Heath for the second year in a row!

7:20PM CST -- Natalie and Bart Millard of MercyMe are tonight's hosts. They're now chatting it up before launching the festivities. They just said there's more of a focus on performers this year because of the artists' common message. Kari Jobe and Phillips Craig & Dean are opening up with "Revelation Song"

7:12PM CST --Natalie Grant and Jordin Sparks are performing a song right now ("Human?")

7:03PM CST -- The adorable Melinda Doolittle is back here. So cute to hear her talk! She announced a new book coming out real soon. Meanwhile, there's the opening prayer for the main event of the Dove Awards ceremony!

6:37PM CST -- Jaci and Nic were just back here briefly. Anyway, back to my awards thoughts.... Would have loved to have seen the Third Day live video get an award. Well deserved to see Crowder win with "Church Music." and pretty cool to see Switchfoot get one for their single "Mess Of Me." I'm anxious to see where the big awards will go... would love to see Jars of Clay score some more of the biggie awards. Maybe Skillet? Maybe Toby? Guess we'll see...

6:27PM CST -- Pre-show is over! Break time before the last few awards during the main Dove Awards show. Looking back on the pre-show... I'm quite happy to see Jars of Clay score Packaging and Pop/Contemporary Album with "Long Fall Back To Earth." JFH readers know we dug the record quite a bit. So we can't be happier! Also, NEEDTOBREATHE grabbed two Doves for their new album "The Outsiders." That's stinkin' awesome. Now we're getting ready for more artists to come back here and talk to us...

6:19PM CST -- Jaci and Nic just introduced Point of Grace who will announce the last two Dove Awards for the pre-show. Producer of the Year is up next. I'm really surpised this isn't in the main show! Producer of the Year is... Jason Ingram & Rusty Varenkamp!

6:17PM CST -- Long Form Video of the Year is now being announced. Would be cool to see Third Day get this! .... dangit. Congrats to the Oak Ridge Boys who take home the Dove instead!

6:15PM CST -- Short Form Video of the Year is on stage now (while the adorable Kari Jobe is back here) -- Francesca Battistelli's "Free To Be Me" wins Short Form Video!

6:07PM CST -- Rock/Contemporary Song of the Year is also up now.... The Dove goes to... NEEDTOBREATHE's "Lay 'Em Down"! Yeah baby! Great pick!

6:05PM CST -- Pop/Contemporary Song of the Year is up now... Go Toby!! ... The Dove Award goes to TobyMac's "City On Our Knees!" Congrats brother!

6:02PM CST -- Country Recorded Song of the Year goes to "Somebody Like Me" by Jason Crabb

6:00PM CST -- Bebo and the boys of Selah are presenting now. Contemporary Gospel Record Song of the Year is "The Power of One" by Israel Houghton

5:57PM CST -- Sorry for the delay! We were listening to Jars of Clay talk to us back here. Mike Farris just won something (ha, sorry, we missed what!). Country Album of the Year is up now -- rock band Abandon is presenting -- "The Reason" by Diamond Rio!

5:44PM CST -- Now they're singing the song in the style of Praise & Worship. The Worship Song of the Year is "Revelation Song"!

5:41PM CST -- The Sisters are now singing "Blessed Be The Ties That Bind" before they announce the Bluegrass Song of the Year nominees. The winner is... "When We Fly"

5:39PM CST -- Sherri Easter is giving a tearful and appreciative thank-you to her writing collaborators for the album. It's a sweet moment. Apparently the song was inspired by the struggling with - and victory over - cancer.

5:35PM CST -- Sisters are on stage now... who want to sing the next list on nominees? That's different! Southern Gospel Song of the Year nominees are up. The Dove Award goes toooo... "Born To Climb" by Jeff and Sherri Easter

5:31PM CST -- Radio Station of the Year just went to Joy FM in Winston Salem, NC. RED is back here talking to us.

5:27PM CST -- Nominees for Best Children Music Album of the Year... And the winner is: VeggieTales' "Here I Am To Worship"! Haha awesome!

5:25PM CST -- Karen just asked Jaci for help for the Spanish Album of the Year names. Haha. Nice. "La Conta" wins by Kari Jobe

5:23PM CST -- J.R, Karen Peck, andLaura Story are up as presenters to introduce Contemporary Gospel Album of the Year. The Dove Award goes to... "Love Unstoppable" by Fred Hammond

5:17PM CST -- Rock/Contemporary Album of the Year ---- THE OUTSIDERS by NEEDTOBREATHE!! Omigoodness! Congrats guys! KJ just came back here. And RED just won Rock Album of the Year for "Innocence & Instinct" (one of the guys shook the award to see if the bottom fell off. haha)

5:15PM CST -- The bottom of Crowder's award just popped right off while he was doing his acceptance speech!! Talk about cutbacks! Daaaang. :) And the winner of Christmas Album of the Year is Big Daddy Weave's "Christ Has Come"

5:14PM CST -- MIKESCHAIR is now announcing the Praise & Worship Album. The Dove Award goes to... David Crowder's "Church Music!" There is JUSTICE in the music world! 5:11PM CST -- Jaci and Nic just introduced MIKESCHAIR who are introducing Rap/Hip Hop Album of the Year... The Dove Award goes to: KJ-52 with "Five-Two Television!" Congrats Jonah!

5:09PM CST -- Phillips Craig & Dean just won Inspirational Song of the Year for "Revelation Song" (I'm still stoked Jars won Pop album!)

5:04PM CST -- Group 1 Crew is coming back here as well. Byron Chambers is with Manuel. Jarsof Clay's "Long Fall Back to Earth" just won Pop Album of the Year! SO happy about this! They deserve it. :)

5:01PM CST -- On stage, they're honoring Eva Mae LeFevre, who recently passed away. They're announcing the nominees for Southern Gospel Album of the Year. The Dove goes to... The Gaither Vocal Band with "Reunited." A shaggy-haired Michael English came up to accept it. Blue Grass Album of the Year is up next as well. The Dove Award goes to... The Isaacs, "Naturally."

5:00PM CST -- Bebo is still back here. He's talking about the song he won for and told us he's working on a brand new record!

4:56PM CST -- Bebo Norman is about to come back here in the press room to speak to us. This was his second Dove Award of all time.

4:54PM CST -- And now up to perform is Karen Peck with "Why Can't All God's Children Get Along".

4:52PM CST -- Urban Recorded Song of the Year is up now. Jonny and Crystal are still announcing winners. The Dove Award goes to.... "Close To You" by Bebe and CeCe Winans AND Israel Houghton's "Just Wanna Say" ... Two Winners?!

4:50PM CST -- Inspirational Song of the Year goes to... "The Only Hope" by Bebo Norman! Congrats Bebo!

4:48PM CST -- Rock Recorded Song of the Year is up now... The Dove goes tooooo... (Skillet or Switchfoot would be sweet!) .... The winner is "Mess of Me" by SWITCHFOOT! Nice!

4:33PM CST -- And the pre-show is off to a cutesy start as Jaci Velasquez and co-host (and husband) Nic Gonzalez of Salvador are kicking things off, introducing presenters Sidewalk Prophets...

4:20PM CST -- Hey friends! Thanks to all who have answered our Tweet with who they hope is going to win their respective awards! We're still waiting for things to get started back here. Keep telling us who you hope wins!

3:33PM CST -- Hey all! Just settling into the Doves press room. The room is a flurry of activity at the minute. Looks like the pre-show starts around 4PM CST and that's where they will give away the majority of the evening's awards. So we'll keep you in the loop!

Tuesday, April 20, 2010

"On the road again..." The Blood, Sweat, and Rock ‘n Roll tour continues to roll on. After a crazy previous week that saw us go 48 hours without sleep at one point, we’ve managed this week to stay fairly rested and fairly sane. It’s been a lot of fun as usual, as we’re continuing to meet more and more folks at each venue. It’s been a little surreal for us as we’re starting to see people coming out that already know the songs and that are singing them from the crowd. For a new band like us, that’s pretty rad, especially when it happens at shows that are far, far away from home. God has been good.

It’s been interesting this year to be out traveling while the seasons have changed from Winter into Spring. Seeing everything go from being barren, to being green and full of bloom is always refreshing to see. It’s been a while since I really took much notice of that change, but it’s really hard to ignore as you’re driving down the interstate day after day. Right now I’m looking out at the rolling hills of East Tennessee, and everything is a perfect green under a cloudless sky. Perfect. In a weird way, I never feel like the new year is here until everything is green again. I don’t really think that I could ever live anywhere that doesn’t get green for at least part of the year. I’m not sure where all I’m ruling out as far as a potential stomping ground goes, but I know I need to see green grass and green leaves at some point in the year.

Right now we are on a detour from the Blood, Sweat, and Rock ‘n roll tour, and tonight we started a three-day youth event in Dalton, Georgia playing original material as well as leading worship. All four of us got our start in music by playing worship at church, so this is something we’ve all been looking forward to. Of course, the first night proved to be a good time, and a huge blessing to us. We all have a heart for teenagers and young adults, so this event is perfect for us. The speaker for the event is one of the most outgoing, fun guys you’ll meet. Tonight, while on stage, he made this crazy-awesome mural with chalk. I had to take a picture of this work of art, because not only is it beautiful, but he did it in such a short time. It was pretty unbelievable.

I was reminded of a scripture tonight as we were worshiping.

Psalm 33:1-4. 1 Sing joyfully to the Lord, you righteous; it is fitting for the upright to praise him. 2 Praise the LORD with the harp; make music to him on the ten-stringed lyre. 3 Sing to him a new song; play skillfully, and shout for joy. 4 For the word of the LORD is right and true; he is faithful in all he does.

We will be back to the Blood Sweat and Rock ‘n Roll tour shortly. We’ll be wrapping up the tour in the next week. We’ll be sad to be done, but we’re excited about what God has in store for us in the future. We have some great opportunities coming our way. We hope to see all your beautiful faces soon. Have a great week!!!

Saturday, April 17, 2010

Sitting upstairs in our green room here in Springfield, GA as we reach the last weekend of our tour with Sanctus Real. And what a tour it has been. It's definitely been the most genuine group of people we've ever had the pleasure of being on the road with. And last night, we had an experience that proves this.

We were leaving the church we played at in Rome, GA at about midnight, when all of a sudden, we heard a loud bang coming from the front of the van. So we did what anybody would do: we freaked and hopped out of the van. Thinking that we had broken another U-Bolt (for anyone who has read our prior blogs), we ran to inspect the trailer hitch. Nothing was wrong. So we hopped back in the van, thinking we may have just ran over something, a very loud something. But after driving for about 10 seconds again, the same thing, BANG BANG! So we got out this time, and knew something was definitely wrong.

After getting under the van and finding a piece of the wheel assembly completely disconnected, we knew that we wouldn't be driving very far like this. So, an hour later, a huge Triple-A Tow Truck, and switching trailers with Sanctus Real, the van was at the garage, and it turns out today, that our front left wheel assembly had just given out and broken. Not sure why, but it's just one of those things that inevitably happens with being on the road for 3 years straight. We were just hoping that we'd actually make it an entire tour without having van troubles! But we're actually here at the next show, thanks to our good friends in Sanctus Real.

We were so blessed last night when they offered to take us and our gear to the show today on their bus, even though it was very full already. They just made room, and made it happen. What an example this is of living out one's mission. I've been able to join them on stage each night in singing their song, "We Need Each Other", and it's just so refreshing to see a group of guys that really lives their lyrics.

Last night was just a great reminder of how we, as the body of Christ should really all work together. When I thanked Dan, their bass player, for helping us out today, he just responded "I don't know why we wouldn't have helped." And at the end of the day, shouldn't this be our response every time one of our brothers or sisters is in need? We just naturally do the right thing, and help! Not just because it's "right", but because of our love for each other, and knowing we really do NEED each other to make this whole "body" work.

Once again, we just give a big thank you to the SR guys for setting this great example.

Thursday, April 15, 2010

As we left Mansfield, OH last night we began our trek down to South Carolina.About 1:30 am I got a call from the tour manager.He was explaining to me that part of our route would have to change due to a road closing.We did a little more research on the matter and found out that Interstate 40 between Knoxville and Asheville has been closed since October of last year due to a rockslide!Can you belive that?I do recall seeing signs along mountainous roads that say crazy things like “falling rock” but I guess I just always think that sort of thing never really happens.We had to create our own detour and convince our GPS that it was indeed the way we wanted to go.The new way added on about an hour and a half of drive time. Inconvenient, but I was thankful that we knew about it ahead of time.

In life we don’t always have the luxury of knowing about detours in advance.They tend to sneak up on us out of nowhere.Bad news never has good timing,right?I thought back on some of our middle-of-the-night flat tires, engine and transmission trouble from the previous tour and then to the current tour and all the trouble Addison Road had with their RV.It broke down almost everyday and then finally caught fire and burned to the ground.Sanctus Real’s bus is having transmission trouble too.Then I started to think back on my life and some of the detours I’ve had thrown at me.Deaths, births,beginings and endings.Good news and bad, all mixed together.I thought back on when I Left home and started over, in a far away place,and then how I packed up to do it all over again.I never would have thought that I’d be where I am today if you would have asked me 5 years ago.

I know some of you are working through some of your own detours.You’re trying desperately to plan a new route because of some rockslides in your life.There is no way we can plan for what life is going to throw at us next.We have to take it a day at a time and trust that God is carefully planning out our path.He said that he wouldn’t give us more than we can handle.He also said that He has plans for each of us, and that he wants us to prosper.He doesn’t want to harm us.Let Him be your hope and your future.Let him lead the way.

Wednesday, April 14, 2010

So, the second half of the Blood, Sweat & Rock & Roll tour started off with a bang. We left Nashville at 6 am on Saturday morning and drove 9 hours to Tulsa. After a great show in Tulsa we drove 3 hours to Kansas City, threw all our merch in our bags, and got on plane heading to Raleigh, NC. After a long delay in Baltimore we finally got to NC. Then after a 2 hour drive we finally arrived in Wilmington late and played the show on gear that we weren't familiar with. It is only by Gods grace that we made it and were able to play a show after being awake for a day and a half straight. Needless to say we slept for 13 hours straight and got to spend a beautifull day at the beach.

It's amazing to see God's hand at work in this ministry. We feel fortunate to be here doing what we love. Remember, God is so faithful, so compassionate, and so steadfast that nothing shakes His love for us. This life was meant to be given away, be encouraged and stand by God!!

Monday, April 12, 2010

Five Iron Frenzy's DVD came out recently, and so I've been in a big FIF state of mind. I watched it and saw that the general consensus amongst the bandmembers, in regards to their personal favorite FIF album, was Five Iron Frenzy 2: Electric Boogaloo. So I listened to it the next day. No wonder it's their favorite. It's gold. I'm not in love with "The Day We Killed," but the rest is great. "Plan B" makes a satirical point about mediocrity in life while being the only true ska song on the album. "Far Far Away" and "Farsighted" are beautiful rock-with-horns tracks that speak of more spiritual matters. There's also the anti-capitalism gem "Vultures," the mournful-yet-worshipful "Car," and the nerd anthem "You Can't Handle This." Electric Boogaloo is a bit of a different side of Five Iron, but a great example of why they're one of the greatest bands ever, no matter how far under the radar they flew. ~ Scott Fryberger

I'm listening to Sanctus Real sound check from the safety of the green room here in a suburb of Indianapolis. I think they’re playing a radiohead song... anyway there is a picture on the wall of Jesus. It’s a pretty classic picture of him depicted as a shepherd. He has a big staff and is carrying a little lamb. I’ve actually seen quite a few sheep on this tour out the window of our van. I started thinking today about all the Biblical references to sheep. I got curious and looked on the internet to see just how many times sheep are mentioned in the Bible. The answer: about 190. The funny thing is, sheep are known as some of the dumbest animals. The even funnier part, is that Jesus is usually comparing us to these mammals with low IQs! Out of all these references, this parable is my favorite:

Luke 15:4-7 - “Suppose one of you has a hundred sheep and loses one of them. Does he not leave the ninety-nine in the open country and go after the lost sheep until he finds it? And when he finds it, he joyfully puts it on his shoulders and goes home. Then he calls his friends and neighbors together and says, ‘Rejoice with me; I have found my lost sheep.’ I tell you that in the same way there will be more rejoicing in heaven over one sinner who repents than over ninety-nine righteous persons who do not need to repent."

This story has always resonated with me. There is a song by Audio Adrenaline called “Leaving 99” that really drives this home. If you haven’t heard it, check it out. It’s such an amazing way of telling how important each one of us is to our Savior. He’s not the kind of God that loses you in the crowd. He’s not the kind of God who forgets about you. Even when your friends do, he’s still there. Maybe you feel left out at home, school, or at work. Don’t forget that He cares enough to leave the 99 and go searching just for you. He’ll keep searching until He finds you, and will bring you back with the flock.

Sorry friends, it's been awhile since I've written! Much has happened since last time you've heard from me. I moved into a new house, got engaged, and now we're back on the road again with Sanctus Real! For those of you who know, My fiancé's name is Celi, and we will be getting married this July in Sweden, where she is from. When I proposed to her on the walking bridge in Nashville, TN, we even had the luxury of having a random live banjo player serenading us with an out of tune song that he probably wrote on the spot! :)

But anyway, what I'm really writing about this time, is about an interesting lady I met last night at a gas station in St. Clairesville, OH, around something like 4 am. It was my turn to drive, so I walked in to get my perk-up coffee, only to find a family of raccoons sitting by the back door, one one his hind legs, looking like they were waiting for food. They were not afraid whatsoever, and they almost looked like a family of pet dogs. So I asked the lady at the counter about them, and she proceeded to walk over, pick up some fig newtons off the shelf, and walk outside to feed them directly from her hand! They were even crawling up on her like they were her pets! Then I walked over to the door to see how close I could get, and they got scared and backed up. The lady whispered something to them and then they came back over. I had never seen anything like this before: a real live raccoon whisperer! She told me that they have been coming to that gas station every night for years. (see pictures) And when I asked her what their names were, she answered, "Sugar."

What an interesting sight that was. These animals are usually so elusive and scared of

people. But in this case, they just knew where to go each night to get their food, with no fear at all. It was their instinct. Although this may be a bit of a strange parallel to draw, I think we could look at this and be reminded where we, as believers need to go, to get our "food". We need to understand and realize that in order to survive, we need to be fully reliant on God. There's a verse that says that "man does not live on bread alone, but on every word that comes from the mouth of God". So maybe right now you're feeling like you're spiritually "hungry", and feel like you have a hole inside somewhere that needs filled. Just remember, that the only way to be truly satisfied in life, is to turn to God, and ask Him to occupy every part of You. Be bold, and tell Him Your needs, wants and desires. I think God wants us to have that kind of relationship with Him where we just instinctively run to Him to fill us, instead of looking everywhere else in the world, that we often find ourselves looking.

It can be a tough thing to really have our first instinct to be to look to God, when there are a million things screaming at us for our attention, and countless self-help books and tv shows telling us how to fix our problems. I find myself often having to refocus and ask God to make prayer the first thing on my mind, even before talking to a friend about a problem or a need. So let's pray together right now, that He would be at the forefront of our minds, that He would be the one to satisfy our desires, and really become our provider.

Thursday, April 08, 2010

If you've been following this blog, you also know that I planned on sitting outside to write last week, only to have my computer battery wimp out on me, and force me to sit indoors. Well, this week I planned ahead a little better, and I'm sitting out in the sun (well...me in the shade, my feet in the sun, haha, and an iced coffee in hand). You would also know from last week that I have been diagnosed with two ear infections and a sinus infection. Earlier this morning I actually had a follow-up with my ENT (Ear, Nose, and Throat) specialist, and it looks like I'm going to be okay. I still have temporary hearing loss, but that will heal up as the infection continues to clear and my right ear heals from having been ruptured, due to pressure from the infection. I'm also cleared to be back playing music, which will resume at the Blood, Sweat, and Rock 'n Roll Tour on Thursday April, 8 in Owensboro, Kentucky. Yeah!!! I'm excited to get back on the road. Come find us and say "Hello".

As you might have gathered from previous posts I've lately been pondering faith and trust these days, and why it is that we find it so difficult. Truth be told, it's part of what makes us human, but no less frustrating. I had lunch a couple days ago with a good friend of mine who has recently had some revelations about life now that he has a daughter, who is now three, and who is ridiculously cute. Granted, his revelations weren't anything new, but I found what he had to say... "refreshing", as he so acutely put it. As we were eating, my friend more or less started to think out loud about how his child doesn't really have a care in the world, and that she doesn't have any preconceived notions about life. He recalled stories of her running into rooms and yelling "surprise", and about her unconditional love. You could see it in his face, that he was completely genuine about the way he has observed his daughter and the impact that it has had on him. He said it was refreshing to come home from a frustrating day at work and look into the face of someone who wasn't burdened with worry, and with the things that so easily drag us down. You could tell that "refreshing" was the perfect word for what he was describing. We talked about how different it would be if we could still live our lives that way, without that worry, without that frustration. (Cue cheesy symphony music, and a bright picture of the sunset rolling over the oceans waters....) What if we *could*, in some sense, live that out?

God really did say that He wanted us to love Him, and trust Him as if we were a child. When you put it in those terms, it seems like it should be easy, but I'm pretty sure most of us have forgotten what it was like to be a child...and maybe for good reason. Which doesn't make it easy. I'd love to be able to run through the grass without the fear that I'll be cut or stung by a scorpion (yep...that happened to me:), or to be able to rock out to whatever music tickles my fancy in the moment. But it's too easy to be fearful of our well being, or what someone else thinks of us. God tells us that fear of man is basically ridiculous. We should have no fear there, it shouldn't matter if you really dig that old Backstreet Boys tune, even if it's an abomination to all things artsy. So go ahead, and feel free to dance at a concert and to sing along to your music in your car with the windows down. Because, honestly, that's one step towards a freedom that includes laying your trust at God's feet, to not being afraid to fail, and to not being afraid to disappoint yourself or those around you.

*(Matthew 6:25-34 NIV) "Therefore I tell you, do not worry about your life, what you will eat or drink; or about your body, what you will wear. Is not life more important than food, and the body more important than clothes? {26} Look at the birds of the air; they do not sow or reap or store away in barns, and yet your heavenly Father feeds them. Are you not much more valuable than they? {27} Who of you by worrying can add a single hour to his life ? {28} "And why do you worry about clothes? See how the lilies of the field grow. They do not labor or spin. {29} Yet I tell you that not even Solomon in all his splendor was dressed like one of these. {30} If that is how God clothes the grass of the field, which is here today and tomorrow is thrown into the fire, will he not much more clothe you, O you of little faith? {31} So do not worry, saying, 'What shall we eat?' or 'What shall we drink?' or 'What shall we wear?' {32} For the pagans run after all these things, and your heavenly Father knows that you need them. {33} But seek first his kingdom and his righteousness, and all these things will be given to you as well. {34} Therefore do not worry about tomorrow, for tomorrow will worry about itself. Each day has enough trouble of its own."*

Tuesday, April 06, 2010

The acquiring of The Rise and Fall of Five Iron Frenzy (review coming soon, I promise) has put me in a ska mood as of late. It's mostly been FIF, but I've also grooved to the O.C. Supertones lately, too. Now, I myself, am partial to FIF over the Supertones, but I started wondering how many people would take that side with me if I were to pose the question. So, which band does everyone prefer? (On a tangent, I'm deciding on these two because they're the top two Christian ska bands. There have been other good ones too, like The Insyderz, Nifty Tom 50, Freeto Boat, Buck Enterprises and more, but FIF and the Supertones top them all, hands down).

My other question is, personal preferences aside, which band crafted better songs? They both have decent-sized discographies, so it may be a tall order, but who do you think was just overall a better band (if you can even say one was better than the other)? Again, I want this second question to be answered objectively (disregard favorites for this one).

I would say FIF for both questions. I prefer them, and I do think they wrote better songs. Granted, they wrote a lot of silly songs, but their serious ones were gorgeous. No offense to the Supertones, cause they were great too, but there's my answer. Your turn!

Have you ever considered how important our view of the resurrection is? Think about it: The disciples watched Jesus perform one miracle after another. He taught them how to pray, how to have a personal relationship with God, and how to serve. He also talked about the cross and His resurrection -- how He had come to forgive our sins and defeat the power of death. At first, they did not embrace the fact that He would have victory over the grave (Matt. 16:21-23). So when they saw the Lord nailed to the cross and dying that terrible death, all their hopes were shattered. All their dreams came to an end.

But you and I know it wasn't the end--it was just the beginning! When the disciples finally realized that all He had said was true and that He had risen from the dead after three days, it absolutely ignited them with courage, confidence, and a desire to tell the world the good news of salvation (Acts 5:28-32, 41-42).

Likewise, if you are a believer, you know that the resurrection is true; it is your assurance that every promise Jesus made to you will be perfectly fulfilled. But do you view everything in your life through the truth of the resurrection?

When you do, there is no reason for guilt because you have evidence that your sins have been permanently forgiven (Heb. 9:22-28). You have absolute proof that you've been given eternal life and a home in heaven (Rom. 6:8-10). You have no reason for loneliness because as your living Lord, He gives you His Holy Spirit to dwell in you, lead you, and empower you (John 14:16-20). And the resurrection also provides you the comfort of knowing you will see your believing loved ones again, even when they pass away from this life (1 Thess. 4:14).

In addition, the resurrection is evidence that no matter what happens, Jesus is able to lead you to victory. Is there any situation in your life that requires more wisdom, love, and power than was displayed when Christ was raised from the dead? As a believer, resurrection power is available to you (Eph. 1:18-20). So whenever you encounter situations that seem impossible, always remember Jesus' victory over the grave and trust Him. Obey God and leave all the consequences to Him, because He has promised to care for all of your needs as you follow Him. The empty tomb proves He is truly able!

Copyright 2010 In Touch Ministries, Inc. Used by permission. All rights reserved. www.intouch.org

“Man, I gotta tell you, your song has been the soundtrack to what the Lord is doing in my life right now,” my pastor friend from Colorado kindly called to tell me the other day about my song More Like Falling In Love.

“Oh thanks so much man,” I said.We call each other “man” a lot. “I’m so grateful to hear that. Honored. Really.”

“Yeah, I love it. But there’s one line that’s really been buggin’ me and I wanted to ask you about it.

“Uh-oh… okay, hit me with it – which line is it?” I said.

“Well, the song is great, and it’s been confirming some things the Lord is speaking to me in my reading lately, but there’s this one line that bugs me because I’m not sure what you mean. It’s in the chorus: ‘come take a look at me now’ – are you saying, ‘hey check me out!I got it all figured out now!’?Why are you calling attention to yourself at that point in the song? I had to ask you because I know you’re very intentional about your lyrics and I might be missing your intention here.”

I told him how glad I was that he asked, and that I’ve been asked about this line, before. I realize that the meaning isn’t immediately obvious – that it was actually a very personal line that came from my own experience, but that I suppose if you don’t know the story behind it, it could be kind of ambiguous. So here’s the story:

You see, my father-in-law – who is great by the way – likes to buy everyone in the family a matching gift every year for Christmas.Early in our marriage, he bought everyone these really cool blue fleece pullovers by Patagonia.The only problem is, that as a young newly married man, I had serious reservations about wearing matching coats with my wife in public.

I didn’t want to be that couple, who wore matching clothes and were all lovey-dovey in public together.I was afraid it was too “cute” like Jerry Seinfeld and his girlfriend in The Soup Nazi episode where they call each other “schmoopie” all the time.Blech!!So the truth is that though I loved the jacket that Taya’s dad gave us, it posed a bit of a threat to my coolness, to the point that if we were going out and Taya was wearing hers, I would take mine off and wear something else.

I know, I know, it’s lame and obviously a result of my profound insecurity, but what can I say… I was young.It was dumb, and I know that it even hurt Taya’s feelings too - all because of my fragile ego that made me afraid of looking foolish.

I remember the day, though, when I finally decided that I not only loved that jacket, but that I loved Taya too much to continue to care more about what others might think than I cared about honoring her.And anyway, why wouldn’t I want to be associated with this lovely girl?She was charming and beautiful and any man in his right mind should love to be so clearly linked with her.So I had my jacket on one night as we were getting ready to go into town for a movie when Taya comes downstairs with her jacket on and… I decided, what the heck – I don’t care what anyone thinks.Or in the words of Will Ferrell in Elf: “I’m in love, I’m in love and I don’t care who knows about it!”

Something changed that night, and instead of feeling cheesy or self-conscious, I felt proud to wear matching jackets with her, to look like we belonged to each other, to let my appearance clearly indicate my relationship with this girl I loved. I didn’t care what others thought or even if I looked foolish.

So you see, I’ve come to understand that the fear of being “cheesy” (or in other words, pride) is one of the chief enemies of love. It makes us too self-conscious and circumspect, hindering us from being able to totally surrender to love, making us afraid of losing control and looking undignified. Or in the vernacular of romantic language, it can make us stand so stiff and braced that we never risk getting “swept off of our feet.”

But one of the tell-tale signs of love is how it can make us lose our cool.Remember Tom Cruise jumping on the couch on Oprah? As weird as that might have been, there was something beautiful about it to me in that it’s the only time I’ve ever seen Tom Cruise emotionally unguarded. Ever.

A better example might be when King David returned to Jerusalem with the ark and got so swept up in his ecstasy that he stripped down to his skivvies and danced passionately before the Lord.Later when his wife shamed him for it, he famously replied: “I will celebrate before the Lord. I will become even more undignified than this, and I will be humiliated in my own eyes…”

Ah, the words of a man in love… in this case, a man in love with his Lord. And this is the kind of love that I’m singing about in my song – the kind of love that draws us beyond our pride and self-preservation, sweeps us of our feet, and puts to shame our ideas of dignity and fear of what others think.

I want to love the Lord with this kind of love, above all else and without regard to what others think, and I want this passion to guide my life. I want to be caught up in the transforming power of it, to be called out of my self-consciousness and fear, to be empowered to take risks and live free of the fear of man.

Ah our old enemy – the fear of man.If we insist on making our faith about a system of rule keeping and compliance, we more often than not end up grooming outward holiness that catches the attention of those around us and earns their admiration.Though it may look respectable, responsible, and dignified, it can conceal a passionless faith that is powerless to change our hearts.But if our faith is more like falling in love with the Lord, we get to have the best of both worlds: a relationship with God and access to a power and a passion that will help us be obedient.

Caught up, called out

Come take a look at me now

It’s like I’m falling in love…

So come, take a look at me now – look at what love has done to me!Look how foolish I’ve become, and a blessed foolishness at that! Love has caused this mild mannered Minnesotan of Scandinavian descent to raise his hands in the air in worship services, to offer prayers of gratitude before meals in public restaurants, and to spend his life in pursuit of this love at any expense.Just like my love for my wife made me want to look like her in our matching jackets, my love of Jesus makes me want to look like him, to be associated with him, to wear his name as an adjective on my life and work, to let the whole world know that I’m not ashamed of Jesus or to be a Christian.

In other words, come take a look at me now! I’m in love, I’m in love and I don’t care who knows about it….

Saturday, April 03, 2010

I’m staring at a bill. It is a gas bill. It’s “past due”. I’ve been staring at it for a while. Everytime I sit at the computer it stares back at me. Laughing at me. Taunting me. Mocking me. The funny thing is, nothing in my house is powered by natural gas, so it shouldn’t even be there at all. I moved out of my old house mid-December and cancelled/transferred all the necessary utilities. Even though I prefer to use natural gas for certain things, I was looking forward to dealing with one less bill at my fancy new, all electric house. After about a month of living in my new place I received the “FINAL BILL” from my old address, as expected. I paid this, and moved on with my life. It kind of felt like I broke up with my gas company and the letter just sealed the deal. Well, apparantly my gas company was holding some grudges about our past relationship and 3 months after I had been enjoying my gas free life another letter showed up at the door. I instantly recognized the letterhead logo and I was confused. I qucikly tore open the envelope to see what my ex-gas company could possibly have to say. As I unfolded the crisp white paper my eyes skimmed over an oh-so-familiar phrase, “FINAL BILL”. This time, it was for eighty-six dollars. I was enraged. I clenched my teeth. I grinded my teeth. I made a sound that was almost like a T-rex roar mixed with a horse whinny. My blood boiled. “How could this be? I’ve been gas free for over three months!” I grabbed the phone. I dialed the number only to find myself in entwined in an atomated labrynth of insanity. After what seemed like years waiting for an actual human being to pick up on the other end I tried and tried to no avail to speak some sense into these people. They wouldn’t budge. I asked for the supervisor, the manager, the president, the CEO, somebody! Apparantly there was a “metor discrepancy” and I was still liable for the remaining charges. The only thing I could think of to delay the enevitable was to demand a letter in the mail describing this predicament and simultaniously giving me more time. They sent the letter I requested, and I think today is the day that I have to suck up my pride and pay this ridiculous, undeserved, past due gas bill. I know in the grand scheme this little event in my life will be forgotten quickly. I started to think of people who go through much worse on a daily basis. I am able to pay this unexpected bill, but not everybody could. If this happened to someone else, maybe their heat would be shut off. Maybe a collection agency would begin harassing them. I think maybe God wanted me to know what it feels like to be wrongly accused. To be in a situation that is beyond my power, beyond my control. There are people all around us who are being wrongly accused. Open our eyes today God. Help us to see those who are in situations beyond their control. If we are able to reach out and help, show us how. Teach us to advocate for those who need our help.

Thursday, April 01, 2010

So yesterday marked a new day in my life, as I moved into a new house, which happens to be my first place on my own! It is a nice little 4-room yellow house in East Nashville. I guess I would consider this my second "big move". Ever since High School, I had lived with my parents for a while, and then moved to Nashville with some very close friends that have really become like a second family to me over the past few years. But I have realized that there really is nothing like having your own place. And I also realized something else while packing up and moving.

Through the process of packing and sifting through what goes where, I figured out something: I have a lot of useless junk! In fact, I think it may be a good possibility that I have more useless junk than stuff that I actually need. I may be more of a pack rat than others and have a hard time getting rid of stuff, but either way, I'm guessing I'm not the only person who feels this way. There's a problem when there seems to not even be enough space for all the junk. The crazy thing about it is, I don't even know where some of this stuff came from, and why I've held onto it for the past few years. Right now, it's all sitting in my basement, until I find the motivation to take it all to the dump or put it up on craigslist.

There seems to be a little bit of an obvious life lesson that I can learn from this, and I think that we all can at some point. We have a choice in life whether or not we will carry around "junk" with us every day. The junk might be in the form of past regrets, wrong priorities, unhealthy relationships, or striving towards things like popularity, wealth, and status (which at the end of the day, doesn't really matter). These things can all slip in without us even knowing sometimes, and before we know it, we're holding onto them, afraid to let go. As much as this may sound like an "Amish" philosophy, this quote speaks volumes of wisdom to me:

"The ability to simplify means to eliminate the unnecessary so that the necessary may speak." ~Hans Hofmann

Sometimes, I feel like we make life a lot more complicated than it ought to be. We have a great example of a simple life lived in Jesus. He placed priority where it really counts, people. He didn't have much extra aside from that, and encouraged the disciples to leave all their possessions behind in order to follow Him the best they could. As different as the times are now, 2000 years later, this calling for us is still the same. So my encouragement for all of us right now, is that we'll look at our lives and see if there is any extra "junk" that we are carrying around, holding us back from really fully living the way we're created to. Let's pray together that God would free us of regret, worry, and any baggage that keeps us from moving forward, and moving on!